ALIENS: Into the Asylum
by Reef-Shark
Summary: In a word driven by corruption and greed anyone can become an agent of darkness. This is a story of a researcher, one who's morals are twisted and brokwn, eventully making him a victim of society, who will find himself hated by the culture that made him
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Welcome to the Jungle **

The small, gray, manmade spacecraft currently orbited around a luscious green planet, which had yet to receive a name because of its small size. It was simply cataloged as ADF-6782-U89O by space travelers. The ship currently in its orbit I was clearly a low budget supply ship, one that you'd think would belong in the scrap heap, but was still used today, typically used by either mercenaries or hands for hire. People who frequented the bars of the out rim planets for the most part.

The process of landing on remote planets was typically a difficult task, especially for older models such as this one. They needed computers plenty to lock onto the coordinates, and estimate the effects the weather and other natural forces that they'd encounter once breaking through the atmosphere, but human beings still were the ones sitting at the controls and would be the ones finishing the job. After orbiting for a total of five hours it finally began entering the atmosphere with a sudden thrust of speed, the hull being covered in a ball of fire as it approached the surface of the planet. When it finally broke through metal flaps shot forth from its wings and hull, a design meant to slow its decent. This device seemed to work fairly well because soon the craft was gliding across the sky, over the endless acres of trees. With a great roar of the engine it began speeding over the planet's surface as great speeds, its intended path clearly chosen.

Onboard a young man trembled nervously, his legs shaking beneath him from the sudden drop through the small planet's atmosphere. He'd travelled to several various planets in his day, but never had the descent been quite as violent as this one. But then again all the other ones were on government approved transports and not an antique supply runner class, like the one he currently had the misfortune of travelling in.

The harness that kept him from becoming a smear on the ship's unsterile, crusty, white walls seemed vastly overused, for he had the thought of them snapping the entire plummet. It took everything he had to not to lose his lunch across the transport's floors.

Meanwhile in the cockpit he could hear the two pilots hollering in excitement, varying from "Yee-Haw" to "Watch me fly", all while the crew men threw in comments of their own, consisting mostly of hollers and grunts, rather than actual words. It was a small, rural crew consisting of a cook/mechanic, two grunts, a captain and two pilots, all of whom had no sense in manners or pride in appearance. They were simply there to get the job done, and it would be a fine day when synthetics and computers put an end to their usefulness to society.

The voices and sounds originating from the men seemed to stop as soon as they passed through atmosphere, the ship now seemingly sailing across the sky in a smooth fashion, assuring him that it was over and that he could now take off the harness. Snapping the steel buckles he preceded towards the 

circular viewing window (which remained shut, with a plate of steel over it while in space and the drop) to view the forests of the outskirt world they now sailed over, trying his best to ignore the large crack in the window's surface.

The trees were high, much like pine trees of Earth, centuries ago before factories and industry had destroyed the environment, only these must have been three times as tall as any of old Earth's trees. Space had offered a wide array of possibilities, forests could be seen in mass now and garbage and factories could be put on rural planets that no one cared for making a nicer community.

"Welcome to the most desolate location in the sector, doc." The cigar munching mechanic said in his gruff voice to the young man. "Better be careful now, or you might mess up that nice little outfit of yours."

"Actually, I find it quite beautiful." The man said with a sneer towards the unkept, hairy armed ship hand. "The planet, I mean. It truly is a virgin planet, not destroyed by the giant foot print of human society. It's a significant specimen that certainly must be admired from these heights. Allows me to see what Earth should've looked like."

"I don't know what this talk of virgins is, but you'll never get one talking like that, I know that much." He replied with a deep throated laugh, cigar hanging from the side of his dirty mouth.

Sighing and shaking his head in dismay he returned his gaze to the observation window. _Filthy Pig, one of the reasons we all deserve to die_ he thought quietly to himself_. _

It wasn't long before the ship began to hover over a small collection of buildings. Small, sleek metal shacks, obviously set down by a large craft sometime ago by the cheap look of things, their walls were coated in rust, and the forest was on the edge of it proximity, obviously waiting for its chance to reclaim the property which the humans had taken from it. The typical set-up for a company science expedition: not only was it cheap but it was easy to set-up.

Locking onto the docking platform located in the center of this slapped together village style establishment the cargo ship began to descend, the roar of the engines growing softer and softer, until finally with a dull thud it touched down on the ground of planet ADF-6782-U89O.

The young man covered his eyes as the sun began to push through the opening cargo bay doors, a brown leather pack slung over his shoulder he waited for his eyes to adjust to the new source of light. The two grunts began wheeling out the boxes of food, fuel and other supplies that the company supplied the establishment. He simply walked down the ramp and towards a man standing over a desk, a wide-brimmed hat atop his head, and an unshaven face giving him a gruff look, especially when compared to his younger features. _Welcome to the jungle_ was the only thing that crossed his mind.

"So, you're that bit of fresh blood the company's been promising us for some time." The man said in an unsatisfied voice that he could not tell whether or not he was mocking his appearance or not. "And what's your name, Boy Scout?"

"Doctor Justin Starling." He stated in a clear voice handing over an envelope which the man promptly opened and began scanning the various documents inside.

"Doctor, shit you look like you still belong in a schoolhouse somewhere." He said raising his hand over Starling's head in a playful fashion to state how small he was in comparison.

"I was the top in my class," Starling murmured, not much liking how the grunt was making fun of him. Especially considering he was sex feet tall, this man just happened to be one of the few who just happened to be…taller.

"Alright Starling," the man chuckled with a goofy smile, "You check out. Welcome to the Village. Name's Jim, but call me 'Hyde'."

The man named 'Hyde' waved to the two grunts unloading the sip. "Just put it all in the warehouse, than you can get your pirate asses off our little world of wonder."

He grabbed Starling's shoulder and began leading him down a small gravel pathway in the direction of one of the larger buildings, causing the young doctor to feel like a child being dragged by his mother at the supermarket.

"Let's get to business first, this job isn't too hard if you make sure to pull your weight, and use that intelligent brain of yours. We study local animals, and study certain things about them. It's all very technical stuff that I wouldn't get, but that's why you, mister top of his class doctor, are here to help us along." They reached the wall of the building that had been coated in small jungle plants, giving the entire place an all natural look, aside from the rust. "And we are proudly sponsored by the company," he slashed his hand across the plants, tearing a huge section from it so one could see the huge yellow letters 'W-Y', "Weyland-Yutani! They fund this place; give us the food, the equipment and our paychecks. Aren't they just the company that cares most about its employees? More on your employers later, if you care to listen."

The young doctor didn't know if he was supposed to reply to the energetic welcome-man, or just let him carry on until judgment day. He chose the latter, not really think he should throw in any in-put at the moment, not knowing if the man was serious or not. No need to start this off on the wrong foot, especially considering it was his first job.

Hyde threw open the doors of the building and spread his arms id a displaying fashion. "And _this _is the dining hall. Very nice if you want synthetic foods, and are our main social gathering point." He leaned over and whispered in a sarcastic tone, "Because it's got the best A/C out of the entire lot of above ground structures."

Hyde pulled him over to a black woman who currently sat sharpening a machete, her eyes staring on the blade with great intensity. She was fit having a strong athlete's build, wearing tight dark green clothes, with a large brown leather belt loosely wrapped around her waist, obviously there for show as opposed to practical purposes, a pistol hanging loosely from it by a leather holster.

"This is Jessie, she's our local Amazonian. She'll be the one protecting your sorry ass when you're out there in the middle of the jungle, or even here at home sweet home. Here she is the queen, the goddess and just about any other term you can think up that means 'can kick your ass'."

She smirked in reply to Hyde's comment, looking up from the blade to meet Starling's gaze. "You must be the new guy; the doctor. Let me straighten some things out for you _real_ quick. There's one rule, and one rule only, out there and that's that the jungle can kill you in a thousand ways, so make sure you don't make me one of them."

"I'll make sure of it," Starling replied, giving a nervous chuckle, not knowing whether or not the woman was serious or not. He never was good at reading human body language and these people…they just weren't the crowd he was used to dealing with.

"Alright, kid. You'll do alright." She put the large blade in a sheath located on her thigh and walked towards the two of them. "Hyde, I need the security wires in wall sector B checked before the team gets back from today's exploration."

He slapped his thighs in response. "D'aw, come on Jess, I wanted to finish the tour for the new doc. This is my favorite part about getting 'fishes'."

"I'll finish the damn tour for you," she growled in response, shoving a computerized device into his hands. "Now you go and fix those wires."

Grumbling the Hyde agreed to her orders and left the building. Now she turned her attention to Jason, who stood there not know how to react, while he also couldn't help his eyes from rolling up and down her athletic build, which she stared at him then back to her machete.

Hyde grumbled adjusting his hat as he exited the building, snatching a shotgun that had been propped against the mess hall's outer wall. He then rested it on his shoulder and began walking down towards sector B, the device Jessie had given him bleeping frantically about the hole that had been formed in the wall.

"Fucking Jessie," he muttered to himself. "Oh sure, make me look like some Neanderthal who takes orders like an obedient servant." He spit on the ground. "Would just ruin that tight ass reputation of yours if they knew how you and I went at it when no one was around. Oh, let's see your reputation once they know how well I make you squeal and beg for more. Would just destroy you wouldn't it?"

The thunderous roar of the transport taking off interrupted his self monologue, shaking the very earth as it launched into the sky and quickly flew off into the distance, causing Hyde's hat to fly from the top of his greasy brown hair.

"Motherfucking, space dwelling cocksuckers!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, kicking dirt in the direction the craft had flown off before picking his hat from the ground and placing it atop his head once again and began walking again.

As he continued to bitch he noticed a large lizard, about half the length of his arm sitting idly on a rock, soaking in the sunlight and warming its cold blood. Hyde grunted in distaste, and focusing his anger he shoulder his shotgun and drew his pistol. Licking his lips he chambered the first round.

"Oh, you're mine, mother fucker."

He took a shot at the reptile that missed and soon it was sprinting away on all four limbs, desperate to escape the intruder. Hyde fired a second, a third and a fourth shot before one tore through its spine, right above the tail leaving a gaping hole through its body and thus rendering its lower body paralyzed.

Snickering in amusement Hyde deposited his pistol in its holster trotting over to the creature, humming the tune to a song about death that had been played on the radio recently. Seeing the creature continue to move its front limbs in a desperate attempt at escape he brought the butt of his shotgun down, flattening its skull and bringing an end to its life. _Alright dinner! _That was the only thought that ran through his mind as he threw the corpse into a sack and continued his way to the damaged portion of the wall, his anger now taken care of.

Starling was examining Jessie's attractive, muscular form when he heard several gunshots originating from outside the mess hall doors, which caused him to jump from his seat, nervously looking out the barred windows.

"Is he alright? Was that supposed to happen?" He nervously stuttered.

She looked up at him with a blank expression. "Oh, He's just fine, just playing around, probably pissed that _he_ had to fix the fence this time around."

She sheathed the machete once again and began walking towards him, as he still sat worried; probably do to never hearing an actual gun discharge before.

"Alright, grub, come with me and I'll show you the rest of this shithole." She announced in a way that said she'd rather be doing something else.

Following obediently he kept pace close behind her as she walked down the path. The school boy in him caused his eyes to take quick glimpses of the way her hips swished, and her hindquarters when she walked. No one could ever hold back the pervert even if they tried.

"We have a strict rule here, and require you to be in the bunker by 10 PM standard time. The creatures of the night here aren't too friendly and you don't want to be found on the menu."

She looked back to hear a response, which in return he nodded his head, which had minutes ago been paying attention to something other than her rules. Satisfied with the answer she continued her introductory monologue.

"There are three men not including you and three women, including myself. Me and Hyde are the only ones currently not exploring the jungle. There is one more female member of the rangers and two more men, and one woman in the research team."

They reached a large door which she swiped a key over which responded with two-beeps before silently sliding open. This then lead to a long stair case, and while walking down the steps they didn't sharing a single word until they reached the bottom of the hard metal stairs, which made enough noise to wake the dead each step they took. It smelt of mildew and fungus, obviously caused by the dripping pipes, but the walls were obviously built to last, unlike the ones back at the mess hall and all the surrounding buildings.

"This is the bunker, and it is the only place I would actually call safe in this entire facility come nightfall, and even then I have my doubts at times." She slid open a metal curtain, exhibiting several shelves full of weapons, primarily firearms, but there were some brawl weapons such as knives, machetes, axes and iron clubs. "Expedition tranquilizer and air rifles are over in the research building, but here's where you'll find some actual protection." She pointed to a keypad on the metal railing that still locked the weapons in place. "We use a four-digit code: 7834; remember it. That will get you into things like pistols, or even the twelve-gauges." She pointed to a small box with a lock on it. "Ammo is kept in here, and only certain personnel have the key." She pulled a chain necklace from out of her collar, showing a small gold key at the end. "Me, Hyde and Doctor Sillias, Weyland-Yutani regulations say that only authorized members of the team can have access to the ammo. So you can arm yourself, but you can't do much without me or one of those two."

"Doctor Sillias, he's the senior researcher here, am I correct?" Starling asked, eyes scanning over some of the larger weapons that weren't going to be at his disposal. They ranged from military issue submachine guns and pulse rifles all the way up to rocket launchers, and some things he'd never even seen before and couldn't begin to judge.

"That is correct; the Doctor's been with this group for fifteen years, age fifty-five. We think he plans to retire come two years and the end of this study. You've shown up just in time to finish the last length of the journey."

She typed in a code and withdrew a semi-automatic pistol. "Hold this," she murmured withdrawing the gold key again to unlock one of the boxes, soon pulling out a clip and slamming it into the pistol for him as he simply looked down at the weapon. "One 9mm semi-automatic is to be carried at all times for safety reasons, you are only given one clip so if you do go nuts and kill everyone you 

won't have a chance of surviving the night. Bunker security doors only close with the thumbprints of two members, whose names you won't be told."

He didn't really like the lack of trust he'd been receiving from this ranger, but he could understand her caution, so he decided to get smart with her. "If I was nuts and did that, what's to keep me from simply taking your key and using it to get additional supplies and ammunition?" He asked, examining his weapon carefully.

"That's another fact about our security I'm not allowed to disclose to you. You're a doctor, and if you're a really smart killer you'd work it in so you could get around that last security precaution, so I simply won't tell you to save us a lot of trouble."

"Understandable," he murmured nodding his head tilting his head to look at her again.

She locked the cabinet and began walking down the hall again, not even having to tell him to follow. As they walked she pointed to various doors that were kept wide open in the hall. She knew how to lead someone, the way she simply exerted power simply by applying her presence.

"These are the four security doors, each one closes in case of emergency to keep anything from reaching our rooms. We close them at 10:00 each night, so make sure you're past them by then. Your room will be number ten, and it is the first one you see to your left once you pass the last security door. Sorry if it's not up to your standards, but its last inhabitant…left us some time ago and we felt no need to keep the room in top condition."

They reached the room with the ten painted on, and she swiped a card through the door before handing it to him just as the door swung open. Someone had sloppily written #10 on the keycard in permanent marker.

"This'll be your one and only room key, so don't lose it no matter what, or you will sleep in the hall. The expedition team gets back in two hours so you may want the time to straighten the place up before official introductions are made. We'll meet at the mess hall, and introduce you to everyone and then will eat. Tomorrow your work will begin with the Doc', and you will be given a schedule by him in the morning." She gave him a dead serious look at that point in time. "No matter what type of worker you are you do not go to the surface early in the morning, or stay there later than are rules state. The buildings up there were all cheap, and all of them merely provide air condition and shelter from rain, that is it. Otherwise they are worthless, and the predators of the night do get in here whether you think you're safe or not." She waved her hand across the hall and pointed at him. "Hell, I'll tell you not to feel safe even in this military grade bunker, so always treat this place with extreme caution. There are things out there that we cannot explain, nor do we intend to find out, because these things are best left alone."

She calmed herself quickly, brushing her long black hair from her forehead with a sigh. Starling noted her burst of anger, knowing that bringing up bad events of the past involving this subject would 

not be in his best interest if he wanted to be on her good side. _But do I want to be on her good side?_ He thought to himself.

"Sorry if I've scared you at all, but since I replace the first ranger her I've seen five crew deaths, which I know isn't as bad as what it was when this program first began, but still. You don't want to be out when it's dark, 'kay? That's just the fundamental rule of surviving here."

"I get it," He grumbled in response, "I won't be outside when it's dark, you have my word."

"It's not your word I want; it's not having to clean up this mess in the morning if you don't follow the rule. Too many nice young faces come here and get cocky, deciding to break the rules and act like their hot shit, but let me tell you this. Not a single person has been out past eleven o'clock PM. Even then, worse things have happened, the incident five years back with Ranger Peterson's death…now that's a creepy story that deserves a moment of anyone's time."

"I'll make sure to ask you about it," Starling replied with a slight tinge of sarcasm, another part nervous to hear more of her _stories_.

"If you want me to tell it you just have to ask. Now I'm going back to the mess hall, you hurry on back there once you've finished sorting things out."

With that she simply turned around and watched her leave, his eyes watching until she could no longer be seen. The place wasn't as he expected, but he wanted something new, something dangerous and deep down he was excited to begin his first _real_ research assignment. _If only there were more women like that_ he thoughtas she disappeared.

Walking up the stairs Jessie let out a sigh of relief. _Another head to keep track of?_ Maybe this one wouldn't end up on the menu, but it was still another person she'd have to _socialize_ with. Hopefully her stories had frightened him to the point of staying the fuck away from her and her business.

Entering the mess hall she found Hyde skin four large lizard-like creatures and throwing cut chunks of meat onto a pan in the middle of the table. She wrinkled her nose at the act.

"We got a new shipment of food and you still want to serve _that_ for dinner?" Typically their meat shipment was very low, and making stew out of the rodent sized reptiles had been a popular treat. But nothing compared to good 'ol homegrown beef.

"I'm not serving it, bitch!" He shouted angrily, obviously still displeased about the fact that he'd had to repair the wall. "I'm saving up for when provisions are down."

She smiled and sat across from him with a toothy grin that she rarely exhibited. "Sure you just didn't want to let your energy out on them because you couldn't let it out on me in the nice reception room?" Giggling she licked her lips mockingly.

"Oh hush up you! When that boy gonna get here anyway?"

"Probably thirty minutes." She shrugged.

"He threw the knife against the table. "Well how about we-"

"The answer is 'no', Hyde."

Looking into the room Jason instantly decided that "neglected" wasn't as bad as she'd made it out to be. Thick layers of dust had coated the furniture, and dirt was clinging to the bed in various places, but nothing that couldn't be swept and scraped away with a bit of effort. Once he started to work he began to think of being home with his parents again, only this time he was cleaning his room just because he could and actually wanted his room to meet some mental standards.

After about half an hour the place looked noticeably better, which was good enough for him so he moved on to setting up some of his things. Clothes into the drawers, family photos on the small desk located in the corner, and several books which he stacked to the right of his small bed, and with a sigh of satisfaction he had finished his work, and all in the time of thirty minutes. He rubbed a painting of a stream he'd hung over his bed with relief that everything was in one piece.

Finally making his way to the surface, Starling decided he may as well move over to the mess hall and acquaint himself with the female ranger and get a better understanding of the planet's wildlife. Making his way down the path he couldn't help but wonder why he'd chosen this job out of all the other possible Weyland-Yutani sites. Maybe it was just the rural location and the disconnection from the real world. With all the nonsense happening on the primary planets creatures in the night was probably a nice retreat.

Opening the doors to the hall he soon spotted her on a table to the far right, alongside the other guard, Hyde. Quickly moving to join them he pulled up a chair to make his presence known.

"So, what is it with this place, and what's with all the stories?"

"You really want to know?" She said solemnly, obviously bored with her petty job and his presence, her hair covering most of her face in her slumped posture. Hyde of course was displaying the same dumb grinned he'd exhibited earlier.

"Of course, I want the introductory course of this sanctuary. Who better to tell me than the one who insures my safety, as well as all the other occupants of the site?"

"What, she not make that tour interesting enough for an outstanding gentleman of science such as you?" Hyde smiled with a laugh.

Hyde was soon met with a jab from Jessie's elbow. "Well," she said with a shrug, "may as well tell you, because the more you know, the less likely you are to be the next dead guy who finds up missing."

"Yeah that's never fun explaining to the executives." Hyde leaned over to whisper to Jason. "It's just way too much paper work to simply declare someone dead, if you know what I mean." He soon pulled back to his own chair.

Jessie cleared her throat before continuing. "This research facility started as a small operation some fifteen years ago, lead by Doctor Sillias and his urge to study native fauna. Mainly we deal with plants and small animals, but the dangerous things are these reptilian pack hunters that stalk during sunset. They actually aren't so bad, you'll probably be on an expedition dealing with them at some point, and under Doc's guidance I doubt you'll make a total screw-up, 'cause you look like a smart guy."

"Just don't baby talk them much." Hyde waved his hands in a warning sort of way. "They _DON'T _like the sentimental crap at all…unlike Jess here..."

"Shut the fuck up with the commentary, Hyde!" She snapped before turning her attention back to Jason. "So they started their expeditions, and things simply didn't work out. Those lizards got lots of them the first time out, and others simply vanished, that being why this place became so unimportant to Weyland-Yutani executives, so we got decreased to teams of around ten at a time, Sillias being the _only _one to stay here from start to finish."

She patted the table calmly, staring at him blankly, giving him chills due to the sheer lack of emotion. And the fact that Hyde's comments no longer were breaking the mood.

"Well," He said, trying to ignore the glare he was currently receiving from the female ranger, "Doctor Sillias sounds like a very commendable man, who I look forward to working with in the near future. His record is the reason I chose this place for my first job for Weyland-Yutani."

She waved the index finger of her right hand in front of her face, a joyless grin emerging on her face, as if he was a child and she was a parent who loved displaying her superior knowledge on the subject at hand.

"I haven't told you the story for what happened last time five years ago when I was appointed here. So sit tight and listen, boy. This one you may actually find interesting from your smart, doctor-boy point of view, so sit tight."

He nodded his head in response, not really wanting to protest to her story telling, considering he'd confronted her for information and that she'd be one of the things that kept people alive out here. It was not his right to deny her the right to tell this story so he wouldn't refuse it.

"Whew-wee, boy," Hyde said with a chuckle shaking his head. "You brought down the hammer. This one's fucking great."

Surprisingly Jessie didn't snap at Hyde for this comment. Instead she stayed focused, looking Jason in the eyes, taking a breath before beginning her story.

"So five years ago they start thinking security is at an all time high, that this place is a perfect refuge for men of science and nature, our teams now having the safety of the bunker to go to if trouble ever emerged. As you could probably tell, the bunker is the most efficient and state of the art structure on this hunk, and that's because Weyland-Yutani decided we were worth enough to provide safety to the employees. But, shortly after this disappearances start occurring again, this time with no explanation. Night and day, they'd just vanish whether they were inside the base or outside. Teams were sent to find out what had happened, only to come back with nothing. No matter what they did night by night, day by day more disappeared, until finally we had a single witness during a single rainy day. Our former engineer, Paul, was out for a walk in the rain, going to repair one of the research vehicles when he saw something. This _thing_ he described to us walked upright, its face was that of a blank metal mask, adorned with various bones and other pieces of what he could only be described, as some sort of alien witch doctor." She pointed her index and middle and index fingers towards her eyes then towards Jason's. "Paul looked at it, and it looked back at him. Where a human's eyes would've been there was a sudden flash of yellow! The thing then continued to look over him; Paul in turn looked over it seeing a human body clenched by the neck, blood running from its lips, mixing with the water. It was former Ranger team leader Peterson. Then in an instant the thing had gone, running away and bounding over the wall, Peterson's corpse still held tight in his hand without paying Paul any more attention. Paul had been unarmed and totally pathetic, but it just turned its head and ran."

"So there's intelligent life on this planet?" Starling inquires his interest perking as he leaned towards her, placing his elbows on the table.

She shrugged in response. "We're not really sure, but when we found several Rangers strung up and skinned, we decided that only an intelligent species could have been behind it, so we've focused the blame on this creature. Peterson and several other lead Rangers weren't skinned, but simply had their skulls and spines removed."

"Wasn't no clean cut and yank job either." Hyde added in. "Shit, it looked like someone took their hand and rammed it into them like a ranger puppet and simply yanked it out from base to skull in one clean peace…clean if you exclude the body fluids that undoubtedly flew." Hyde pretended to slam his hand into something and made wet splattering and cracking noises with his mouth, obviously trying to act out what he'd just described."

"We don't know why the thing vanished after that, maybe it didn't want to hunt during the rainy season, but for the last few years we haven't had one death that could be linked to this creature. We've also never figured out why it didn't simply kill everyone in the base if it was able to dispatch trained rangers with ease; Peterson had been the reception room, always carrying a multitude of weapons with him. As for our boy, Paul, he left two years ago, not wanting to put up with this anymore. Who can blame him? This is fun and all, but when my required term is done I', out of here and I suggest you do the same boy."

"I'll take it under advisement." Starling nodded, already fascinated by this find, not believing that they hadn't pursued the answers. "What happened to this creature, this alien warrior? What became of it?"

"Hell if I know, we simply stopped working at nights, that being the time it, or they, struck most frequently and we didn't want to risk anymore lives just for the sake of studying nocturnal species."

"Yeah…" Hyde said with a shrug. "We don't want to be looking for trouble considering after that our employee count was lowered by the company and we seriously don't want to poke this thing in the ass if we don't have to. I thought you scientists were all for leaving nature alone."

"Interesting," He muttered nodding his head. "I'll have to do some research on that, I may find something. This species could be quite the specimen, _if_ captured alive, or even dead, its brain would be worth studying to see how it differs from our own."

"Dude!" Hyde exclaimed waving his arms. "Fucking doctor's man! What is up with your lot and poking animals in the ass? If that thing shows up we're moving the food to the bunkers and sitting things the fuck out until the rain comes. End of story, the end."

Jessie nodded in agreement, obviously calmer then Hyde was. "I'll I know is kill first, ask questions later as far as this thing's concerned." She snorted, no cleaning her pistol with a white cloth, seeming to ignore Starling once again. The gun was now the only thing in the room on her mind.

Hyde wagged a finger in Starling's direction. "You listen here boy; you won't get a single ranger in this base that'll willingly go out to find that thing. All we want is to live through our terms here, get paid, go home and live out the rest of our pathetic lives in happiness."

"I understand that." He replied, knowing he'd agitated the man. "Sorry, I only meant that it would be worth studying, I didn't mean that _we'd _be the ones to do it. I'm all for running with our tails between our legs if this thing shows up again." He laughed. "Trust me; I won't go after this thing because of simply being afraid of it coming after me."

Hyde laughed and patted Jason's back. "Now that's more like it! I knew I'd like you Jason, moment you got off that piece of shit transport. You just have a nice aura circling around you."

"Ummmm, thank you?" Jason stuttered, not knowing if Hyde was serious or simply messing with him.

Suddenly Jessie looked up from the gun and towards a monitor that hung from the wall, which caused her lips to form a smile. Her lips were very thin, not very noticeable, probably why when she smiled and you spotted the motion it felt like you were witnessing a rare occurrence worth documenting.

"Alright, boy, you're gonna get to see some real people in just a second. Team's gotten back a tad bit early so straighten yourself up and try to not look like you're a total new guy at this job. State your name and why your hear, and hope it satisfies Sillias or you'll be spending your days with me and 

Hyde on base watch, and trust me that makes for an uneventful day for an aspiring man of science such as yourself."

"Yeah, pick a fight with one of the other guys and kick his ass." Hyde said with a laugh. "That way no one will want to fuck with you.

Once again he had trouble telling whether or not the man's comments were jokes or not.

"I'm ready for this; I've _been _ready for this." Starling muttered, cracking his neck and brushing back his light blonde hair. "I'm here to work, and I will work, regardless of what Sillias says."

Jess smiled is an amused fashion as if he'd just made a clever remark, to which he returned a low-scale scowl, not really wanting to have a conflict with her, considering her power and wanting to start things off on the right foot.

"Hope you'd actually be ballsy enough to say that to his face, because if so you just might make it here…alright, here they come, better start praying boy; rub your grades for luck."

Not caring about the Ranger's sarcastic remarks Jason Starling sat still in his chair facing the mess hall's entrance, just waiting for those doors to open, his heart beating at a faster rate, which he did not take note of because he was about to live his dream as a xenologist and perhaps even prove the existence of a intelligence. That was an opportunity that would make any one in his line of work giddy with joy.

He had been ready for this since he walked away from the university…

He was ready for this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

**Conversations**

Starling watched as the group filed into the mess hall, their clothes were all thickly covered in sweat and mud, their faces for the most part show exhaustion. They all approached the tables and quickly sat down, exchanging a few quick words before noticing there was a new person in their midst.

Hyde jumped on a table, forming his hands around his lips. "Alright everybody, before dinner we have someone to meet!" He suddenly yanked Jason onto the table aside him, the sudden movement causing him to look around at the new faces, his heart nearly bursting from his chest. "This is Doctor Jason Starling; he's new here so why don't the rest of you pleasant folk introduce yourselves."

It was then that Hyde let go of him, and Jason, now completely embarrassed, this not being the way he wanted to be introduced to a new group of people at all. _This isn't a sports game! I'm not a wrestler!_ Were the thoughts that flew across his mind as he angrily sat back down in his chair facing the gathered group of individuals who stared back at him.

The first to approach was a woman in her early twenties, wearing a black tank top that left her waist entirely exposed, and over her legs she wore black jeans. Her hair was jet black, put into a ponytail in the back. It was a popular look, and she undoubtedly pulled it off, not as fit as Jessie, but still obviously one who enjoyed a good work out.

"What's up?" She said casually spinning her fingers as she talked. Jason noticed two pistols hanging loosely from her belt, one for each hip. "I'm Ranger Nicole Kaleso, and don't you ever forget it." she jabbed him in the chest before walking off, a hand resting on her hip.

Jason watched in amazement the words "thanks…" slipping from his lips smothered in sarcasm, knowing he already had someone on his list of people to steer clear of. _What a bitch._

Next came up a man, who was strong in build and actually clean shaven unlike Hyde, a rife hanging from his shoulder by a thick leather strap, so he already knew this one would be a ranger before the man extended his hand for the shake.

"Ranger Dick Larison, here to serve." He delivered a firm hand shake, Jason instantly wishing all the other rangers hand this level of discipline. "I hope you enjoy your stay here, Doctor Starling."

Dick joined Nicole on the table across the room, and Jason was now approached by a young woman of Asian descent. Not as fit as the others, she showed a bit of weight, but overall was an attractive individual with short black hair that seemed to have been combed with great pride.

"Ummmm, hi," she blushed nervously extending her hand and giving him a very limp shake. "I'm Doctor Lisa Walker. I'm…so happy to see a new member in the science group. Yaaaaay…" She quickly turned; her face tinted red and scurried off to a table on a table several yards away from the one 

the rangers currently sat down at. Jason, not knowing what to think of that and looked to the last person left to introduce them to him. A man in a nice leather vest, trimmed beard and long hair of gray that gave him a much older look then he really was.

When he stepped forward he already knew this was Doctor Sillias, one of the best field researchers of the last twenty years, and it was now up to him to leave a good first impression while also not giving off the impression of being an arrogant ass fresh from school.

"I'm Doctor Sillias," the man said, shaking hands with Jason as he ran responses through his head trying to figure what he could say to a man of this stature. "Glad to have you aboard, Jason. I'll try not to bore you too much during these next few months."

"It's an honor to be offered the opportunity to work with one such as you." Jason said, not able to come up with anything better for the moment and hoped it wouldn't come back to kick him in the ass. Nothing was worse than a stuttering kiss-ass.

The older man simply laughed and patted him on the back. "Kid, trust me, don't feel honored by working with an individual such as myself." He began to lead him over to the table that Lisa had grabbed for them. "You see, I'm sure you and Lisa will be able to do greater things then I ever imagined, I am just the beginning of this research, it's up to you two and all the other fresh candidates who've worked with me to carry my torch so my dreams, and yours can be achieved, thus paving the road for other hopefuls in the field. You get me, Jason?"

"Yes I do." Jason nervously nodded his head repeatedly, which was followed by Sillias grabbing the back of his head and stopping the motion.

"Okay son, just move your lips and let the words come out. Don't give me this bobble head bullshit, it really gets annoying."

"Yes sir!" Jason was already having different opinions of the doctor, not knowing what to think of him in person. Was he a nice guy or an asshole in disguise? Hopefully he'd find out relatively quickly.

Sillias sat down in a hair in the middle of the table, placing his elbows on the table and interlocking his fingers and looking over his two assistants once Starling had taken his seat across from him and to the left of Lisa.

"Well welcome to the group, Doctor Starling." Sillias began. "I want to straighten some things out about your work schedule, which quite frankly I slapped together." He pointed to him multiple times as he seemed to be mentally looking for the right words to say. "Your grades are fundamental and it is a great treat to receive a graduate of your level of intelligence on my small operation."

"Thank you sir." Jason stammered, close to blushing by the mere fact that Doctor Sillias was saying this and not a family member, or some other biased individual.

"Now I seriously do mean that, Jason." He licked his lips, smacked them together three times and then continued on with his talk. "I want you to be up and ready to go to the main science building at around nine o'clock AM, which should mean that the sun is up and we can look forward to a nice day's work. You'll get off at five o'clock, which gives you plenty of time to wander around the facility before the ten o'clock curfew. I want you in clothes you aren't…afraid to get dirty in."

The dinner was pasta and soup, and the groups stayed separate from one and other the entire time, only taking glances from across the room every now and then. The science team's three members were having a calmer, casual conversation while the rangers hollered and laughed, their voices being heard throughout the large mess hall, which had obviously been meant to accommodate a larger group. There were twenty large tables over all, and both groups could've used one, but for meals they seemed to enjoy staying apart, considering their individual interests obviously varied greatly apart between the intelligence barriers that had been formed simply by their professions.

"He seems like such a dweeb, ya know?" Nicole said between mouths full of noodles, making slurping noises as they slid down her throat.

"Isn't that what he's hired for?" Hyde said in the Doctor's defense. "Rangers still outweigh the total number of scientists on a scientific facility so why doesn't she shut up about them? We get paid, end of story. "

Jessie nodded her head, pointing her spoon across the way. "You see Lisa? Such a virgin, isn't she?" An obvious attempt by the leader to change the subject from the one Nicole had started. "Totally flipped and went loopy over the new Doctor. She couldn't have been more obvious."

"Yeah, like no other little girly here has blushed…" Hyde said under his breath, which Jessie pretended not to hear.

"What do you think, Dick? Come on, you have to have some negativity towards the new guy." Nicole said stubbornly crossing her arms, trying to get them back on the subject that _she_ wanted to discuss at the moment.

"Oh go drive yourself in a ditch, Nicole!" Jessie said loudly.

"Dick looked over an emblem burned onto the medallion of his necklace, which up until now he'd had concealed in his shirt. "I think the new doctor deserves nothing but our respect. He's young, polite and has done nothing wrong, other than getting a higher paying job then us."

Nicole promptly gave the lot of them the bird, leaning back on her chair with a grunt of dissatisfaction, knowing she'd clearly been beat by her home crowd and that there would be no use continuing her attempts at stirring up the emotional pot.

"What's up with the new Doctor's hair and clothes?" Jessie said with a smirk. "Pretty damn nice, not exactly good for what's the equivalent to a ten month camping trip, I mean what was this dude thinking when he packed?"

"For all you know those could be his worst clothes." Hyde laughed. "His family's probably fucking loaded, I mean come on, with him graduating so young his whole family's probably in the field."

"Or…" Nicole snickered, "He's a vampire and he's using his sexual appeal to draw in fellow nerds like Lisa."

Hyde laughed loudly as the others imply smiled and chuckled lightly at the comment, Nicole frowning when she only got a small reaction to her comment. She looked to Dick, who still sat eying the medallion intently, his head seeming to be limply attached to his neck. He did this whenever he was alone, and it really bugged her, that and his goody two-shoes attitude regarding every single situation they were faced with.

"What the fuck is that thing, Dick?" She finally blurted out after staring for awhile.

He slowly looked up at her, his blue eyes connected with hers before looking back down to his necklace, watching its surface gleam brilliantly in the light. "This is just something I carry for luck. Family heirloom, I suppose you could call it, but technically I haven't inherited it because my dad hasn't died yet." He ran his fingers along the grooves. "He felt its good fortune saved him during his military service, so he wanted me to keep it and have the powers that saved him watch over me now that I was out in the world on my own.

"Okay, okay, didn't need your fucking family timeline." Nicole said turning away from him in frustration. "What the hell is wrong with all of you tonight? You act like there's nothing to talk about when normally you can't shut up!"

"You do enough talking for all of us." Hyde said yawning, and throwing his disposable soup cup into the trash can.

Sillias placed his tray on the table. He smiled and set his elbows on the tale looking over to Starling. "So, Jason is it? It's always nice when we get a new member on the research team. Typically we only get new rangers. There lot comes and goes on a regular basis, while new research members come for three months to two years, if they make it that long." He took a sip from his cup. "So how long you here for, Jason?"

"Four months." Jason replied, stirring the steaming cup of soup, wondering what the ingredients consisted of in the foul colored brew.

"Well, that's a good long course for a first timer. Lisa's here for three more months herself. Finishing up a nice eight month term, you see."

Jason looked over to her raising an eyebrow. "How many have you done expeditions that is?"

She looked over, looking side to side as she did. "Oh, this is, this is my second assignment since I started working for Weyland-Yutani. My first was on Deltos-63KXCV, studied reptiles and such under Professor Belts. That was a four month stay, just like yours here."

"Belts is pretty big in that field." Jason said before slurping one of the slimy noodles. "What was he studying when you were with him?"

She sat for a second thinking, dabbing her spoon in and out of her cup. "He was looking at skin textures of small reptiles. The company had him working on vehicle designs, so he used reptiles and their scales as a basis for a skin for the new APC designs. He wanted to find out what could make them lighter, and more durable." She took a spoon full of broth and noodles, quickly swallowing it. "He likes to apply natural design to human creations, because he thinks nature creates the best quality innovations."

"Who's to say that isn't true?" Sillias said pointing to her. "Belts is a friend of mine, and you need to always remember that nature creates things the way it should be" Already finished with his soup he threw the cup into the disposal bin. "Nature gave us superior brain functions, which means we must use those brain functions to replicate the things we lack from nature."

"Of course, sir, I never said that wasn't true. I just wasn't there long enough to tell how the scale texture would help the vehicle designs."

Jason looked back and forth between the two not knowing how to get involved in the conversation. With a sigh he decided to kick back and listen to the conversation instead. Sillias was different, compared to what he'd expected signing up for this assignment. He couldn't confirm whether or not the scientist's kind nature was great, or something that could cause him some trouble down the road. Ever since he'd first dreamed of this profession he'd been kept under the thumb of a superior, but Sillias seemed more open to letting his aids do as they pleased, and Jason had yet to figure how he'd handle that level of freedom when it came to work.

"Anyway," –Sillias leaned forward looking at both him and Lisa – "I think I'm gonna head of for the evening and catch up on some much needed sleep." He handed Jason a small sleeve of paper. "I expect you to be up and ready for action in the early morning. Since it's your first day the rangers will take it as a great pleasure to wake you personally." The aged individual smiled. "Take it as a push from a helping hand, because once you get used to the schedule you won't have to put up with much of it anymore."

He stretched as he pulled himself from his chair. "I hope to see you both up and running at full efficiency by sunrise." He extended an arm to Jason, his hand in the shake gesture, which Starling instantly accepted, receiving a strong shake from the senior researcher. "Good night you two, and Jason, make sure to settle in real well."

"I will sir"

"Very good, you two just stick around awhile and exchange chatter." With that he turned heel and walked away, slamming the mess hall doors behind him.

Lisa stared at Jason awhile, desperately searching for the right way to approach the new employee without sounding like a social reject. Needed to find some common ground, a subject that they both could enjoy discussing, or else she was in for some awkward encounters. Lucky for her, Jason was the one to speak up.

"What is the deal with these creatures the rangers talk about?" He asked, folding the schedule into a small square and tucking it away into his coat pocket. "You know, the ones that they believe killed a good deal of the employees stationed here a few years back."

Lisa sighed in relief, glad he'd chosen something she could discuss. "We don't really know what the deal with them was; they came and went so fast Doctor Sillias never had a chance to assess their species origin or motives." This was a subject she'd been interested in when joining the program, and began to gain confidence as she continued sharing her knowledge on the subject with Doctor Starling. "Due to the few encounters, and the fact that we never encountered them again we've come to the conclusion that they aren't indigenous to the planet. Maybe alien head hunters, that seems to fit the situation best." She spun her fork between her pale fingers. "They came, they killed and they went, probably on to another hunting ground."

"So" – Jason leaned over, his eyes connecting with hers – "you believe this species came here to specifically hunt, and kill the species of this planet? That's quite the idea, what do you believe is the motive behind this killing?"

She shrugged. "In this day and age, what is the use of an opulent man shooting wild game animals? It's a sport, and perhaps they share common grounds with our species in finding the thrill of the hunt one of the most satisfactory games imaginable." She brushed her hair back. "Personally I find it one of the most detestable games we've thought up, but then again if an alien race took a look at us they'd think war was our peoples' pastime."

"Well, they must be gendered, because only a race with testosterone in its systems could find that to be worth the time and expense." He said looking down at his noodles, pushing them around with his fork, an expression of distaste forming across his thin lips. This caused Lisa to smile. "Killing has always been away of asserting dominance, if you're idea were true they'd probably be doing it either to gain higher status in their own culture, or they do it to keep possible threats, like humans, afraid of them. Power is a driving force that keeps socities and civilizations strong. A weak group or individual may be shunned by them." He looked warily at his cup again.

"You don't need to eat them if you don't want to." She threw her own out into the trash bin. "Trust me; if you don't intend on staying here as long as Sillias you won't _ever _have the time to grow a 

fondness for this shit. You'll learn to eat light, just like me." She instantly felt stupid for saying that, because surely he'd think she was lying, do to her body type not being very lean, or muscular.

"Alright, I can dig that." He smiled, throwing his cup's contents in the bin as well, the slimy noodles splattering against its sides with a sickening sound which echoed as they slid down the sides of the bin.

Lisa smiled, looking down to her watch. "We have to get to the bunker now. The rangers will start to push us around if we don't leave before they finish their food. They love asserting dominance."

Jason licked his lips. "Do they really have anything else to assert in a lab complex?"

"No," she grinned. "I guess they really don't."

Nicole watched the two leave the room, scowling with her teeth grit. "Look at them, think they're so perfect. They just stroll on out as if the world's in the palm of their hands." She crossed her arms across her chest huffing.

"Would you just shut the fuck up, Nicole?" Hyde said leaning back in frustration. "Scientists are the top priority on a science venture. We just watch over them, so you need to calm down and accept the fact that they are the top dogs here. We protect them, but they're the ones getting the larger pay check, so get over it."

"Yeah," – Jessie sighed – "Nicole you've bitched about so much in the short time you've been here and quite frankly we don't like you much for it. " She glared at the young women. "We do our jobs and put out egos aside and we get paid for it. Occasionally we shoot some stuff, but never are we to complain about the task that we're paid to do. Maybe you should have read the handbook before coming out here so you could know what we're actually about."

Jessie stood up looking down at Nicole, who stared back from her position rocking back and forth in her chair. "By the way, it's your turn to lock up shop before nightfall. You want to complain, complain to this planet, we'll be in our bunks. Have fun now, and don't anger the trees."

With that the rangers all stood up and left, leaving her behind muttering curses under her breathe, not quite willing to leave her seat yet. There'd be no point; she'd be the last one in the bunker no matter what she did, so there was no rush.

Jason walked alongside Lisa, back down the steps of the bunker and down the hall, passing the weapons and security doors along the way. When they reached his room he turned around to face her.

"Well this is my room." He hesitantly looked at her. "What do we do now? I mean is there anything we do once we get in the bunker?"

She simply shrugged. "We don't really interact once we're inside. We sit in out bunks, read some books, do some research. Of course you can then go to the locker rooms to freshen up." She blushed staring at him. "I go to the showers later in the night to try and avoid any interaction with other team members."

He smiled back at her. "Well I'll remember that. So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

Nicole slid the large key into the slot of the mess hall's doors. It took great effort, but eventually it turned, locking the large doors tight. Walking backwards and checking her watch she smiled. Record time for locking up the compound's buildings, which meant she'd have a fair bit of time to have her private time.

"And…" –she looked down to her watch – "Five, four, three, two and one." With that the lights on all the outlying structures were off, the upper facility only illuminated by the setting sun.

With that she made her way towards the bunker, her purple painted nails lightly going up and down along the length of her exposed stomach, her jaws stretching into a yawn. It'd been a long day, a fence repair day, and that always was time consuming. She'd finished one segment of the wall and instantly had to move on to another. Fucking walls were sprouting odd things on them all the time and she just wanted it to stop. Rangers weren't supposed to be scraping fungus off concrete and steel walls for ten hours straight. She belonged out their emptying her pistols into something and watching it squirm to and through in death.

As she made it into the bunker, swiping a card as she entered she smiled. The four security doors shut behind her and she smiled. There were still some things she took pleasure in doing; still some things that made her grin like a child on Christmas morning. She checked her watch again. Ten forty-five, it was almost time to go and take part in a little retrieve.

Lisa looked at her clock mounted atop her table aside her bed, noting that the time read ten minutes to eleven. Grabbing a towel and a change of clothes she made her way down the hall in the direction of the women's locker room. At this time Jessie would've already taken one and hopefully, just hopefully Nicole would be doing…whatever it was she did around this time. All this time and she still had no idea what it was the others did with their time. Maybe she could have that change with this new member of the team.

Lisa entered the women's locker room slowly, scanning the room intently before reaching for the switch. Once she had the lights on she proceeded to strip herself of her clothing, piling them in a neat stack on one of the benches, and once she was satisfied and had a towel wrapped around her nude frame she approached the showers.

Once she was well inside she threw the towel of the railing and turned on the first faucet, letting the hot water spurt out in a wave the engulfed her body. Grabbing a bar of soup she began to wash herself, every now and then shoving her head directly under the jet of water, letting it slide down her flesh, forming natural patterns that glistened on her flesh in the locker room's lights.

Suddenly she heard another jet of water begin and looking over her face turned to distaste seeing Nicole's nude frame standing beside her.

"Nothing like a late night shower, don't you think Doc?" Nicole asked lifting a soap bar from the rack, slowly running it around her body in circular patterns, a large grin broadly displayed along her face.

Lisa scowled in anger, with a tinge of embarrassment. Nicole's body put hers to shame, and she felt so useless when she could see the ranger in her entirety, her pale athletic build proudly displayed, as opposed to Lisa's not so fit form. Nicole was a bitch, but she had a body that was thin and attractive, added on to the muscle she'd acquired from her profession. No matter how many times they crossed in the showers she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"What the hell are you doing here, Nicole?" She said trying to hide her shame from the ranger, who'd eat her alive if she got a foothold into her feelings.

Nicole laughed, her soup beginning the coat her chest and midsection in a thick layer of white. "Saying you're the only one who can enjoy the pleasantries of partaking in a shower? Doesn't sound very fair." Nicole laughed, arching her head back and letting the water stream down the front of her torso, washing away the soap and a large quantity of dirt and grime acquired from the day's work outside, leaving her skin with an even paler, yet still tan color.

"Well, no, I mean, no, I just mean you always seem to show up when I'm here." Lisa stuttered, picking up a bar of soup and beginning to run it along her own body, trying hard not to compare herself to Nicole's, but her mind always ended up beating her up over her choice in exercise.

Nicole shrugged, turning to face Lisa directly, her hands firmly planted on her hips as she stared at the doctor with a perverse grin. "You know, that new guy, Starling, he's kind of cute." She idly licked her lips, watching for the oriental doctor's reaction. "I wouldn't mind giving him a go, if you know what I mean."

She threw her head back, pushing it in the path of the warm water's flow before facing Lisa again, pushing some black strands of hair out of her eyes. Her eyes twinkled when she saw the anger and frustration deep beneath the doctor's eyes, knowing that she'd been right with her assumption and how to hit the doctor now would make this that much more fun.

"I bet that boy is a sweet, sweet lay." Nicole said, giving her tongue a long flick across her upper lip. "With a body like his I bet he can make me feel like a school girl again." She bit her lower lip, squeezing her eyes shut in a look of false excitement, running her hand up and down her wet abdomen.

She didn't see it, but she certainly felt it as Lisa's fist came colliding into her face, sending her sprawling into the wall of the showers. Nicole slid to the ground with a cry of surprise and pain. Gripping her nose she looked up to see Lisa panting heavily and holding up her fist.

"Oh little miss Lisa, I didn't know you had it in ya." She pulled herself up, cracking her neck as she did so. "You want to get down and messy, right now? I've been looking for a nice little brawl for some time now."

Nicole crouched down in a stance, teasing Lisa to come forward and attack. But the doctor never came. She lowered her arms and walked away, grabbing her towel as she did so.

Blushing Lisa walked towards the lockers, not believing she'd actually punched the condescending individual who'd taunted her for so long. It felt good, no it felt great. But she couldn't give into Nicole's wishes, in a straight forward fight Nicole would serve up her ass on a platter. No, one punch was enough for all those months, and hopefully all she'd ever need.

She came to her clothes, quickly putting on her new set of undergarments and pulling on her shirt and pants. Next to her nicely folded articles of clothing she noticed Nicole's piled in a messy pile of black, purple and some red hearts.

Once she was fully dressed she quickly hurried out of the locker room and down the hall, not thinking back to what had just occurred, simply wanting to return to the safety of her room where she'd be safe from Nicole's taunts, and she'd be able to sleep peacefully knowing she'd finally punched the bitch in her shit spewing mouth.

Nicole smiled, leaning against the shower wall even after Lisa had left the room entirely, not quite willing to move from the water. She spat a small amount of blood towards the drain, where it was quickly swept away by the hot water and down the pipes. Finally, she'd gotten through Lisa's thick mental barricade and had gotten her to strike.

"You really fucking like this new guy." She said smiling and letting the water pelt her frame as she grabbed the soup and once again began to wash down her dirt covered frame.

In room #27 cries of passion and love filled the air as Hyde and Jessie rolled along the expanse of the bed. With a final cry they soon were silent, panting heavily; sweat glistening across their nude frames in the soft lamp light. Hyde was atop Jessie looking down at her, sweat rolling off the tip of his nose. She opened her eyes smiling at him, her legs loosening from around his waist.

"Someone seemed energetic tonight." She panted, digging her nails into the flesh of his back. Her hair was a mess, spread out across her pillow in messy tendrils.

"Thought I always was." He said, slowly moving to her side and wrapping his arms around her chest and pulling his body close.

Jessie stared up at the ceiling mesmerized. "Nicole's seriously becoming an issue."

Hyde sighed, upset by the topic his lover had decided to bring up after their time of passion. "She's arrogant, but I wouldn't call her an issue. She just needs to learn her place in this…place."

Jessie laughed, kissing Hyde's cheek. "I guess I'll give her a few more chances, but this has to stop at some point or I'm giving her the boot."

Jason spread out across his bed, his eyes beginning to droop. There was so much to get used to, but he already was beginning to like it her to a certain degree. The place did have that great feeling of detachment, compared to the streets of central systems, but was that really that great? Weyland-Yutani had long stopped its expansion, hence why this planet hadn't undergone any actual colonization effort. If he were to learn anything, he wasn't quite sure if this would be the place, but the possible existence of sentient alien life was enough to draw him into disposing the thought of leaving.

Picking up his computer he began to look through some files. The files were old, some dating back to the 20th century, but all of them were concepts and stories regarding alien life. Going down the list he'd assembled throughout his education he tried to find one that had stuck in the back of his mind the strongest. _The Hunter_ by Jonathan Horton, a story published in a small magazine over a century ago that detailed a series of killings and how they resembled previous acts of violence that were also unexplained. Horton believed that this thing was a culture, an old one at that, their race having traveled space for some time. Sounded similar to what Jessie had described to him in the mess hall awhile back.

Finding the title he quickly opened the link and began to skim through the compilation of stories, taking notes as he did so. This was a subject that would make this trip worth it, or at least would give him something to look into on those slow work days.


End file.
